'We're more organised, less chaotic': Deepinder Goyal urges ex-employees to join Eternal

New Delhi: Zomato Founder Deepinder Goyal, who has stepped down as its parent entity Eternal's Group CEO and MD, made a fervent appeal to its former employees on Tuesday to join Eternal, promising a "more organised" and "less chaotic" workplace environment.

Eternal owns Zomato and Blinkit brands. The parent entity was re-named from Zomato to Eternal last year but the brand name Zomato was retained for the food delivery platform.

In a post on X, Goyal admitted that for many former Zomato employees, the food delivery platform "didn't have the environment, or the leadership" they needed at the time.

Urging former Zomato employees looking to return to Eternal to email him, Goyal said while "the Gurgaon pollution is still a bug", being at Eternal is the feature. He urged them to reach out to him to discuss finding suitable roles.

Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa has succeeded Goyal as Eternal Group CEO.

"If you used to work at Zomato, whether you chose to move on, or I was the one who asked you to leave, this is for you.

"I know that for many of you, Zomato didn't have the environment, or the leadership you needed at the time. But I know for sure, that you loved being at Zomato, and it is quite possible that you never felt like home anywhere else since you left," Goyal said in the post.

He stated that over 400 people at Eternal presently are in their second or third stints.

"Many of them are doing their best work now. Maybe because they've grown, but also because the company has grown. We are more organised, a little less chaotic, and hopefully, I've learned a few things along the way too," he admitted.

Goyal further stated that if the former employees haven't reached out because they think the door is closed, or because they think he's holding onto the past, he's not and he wants them back.

"There is so much to build at Eternal. We are today, a family of companies.

"Zomato, Blinkit Quick-Commerce, Blinkit Ambulances, District, Hyperpure, Nugget, and Feeding India. We need people who already know what good looks like here, and who care enough to fight for it. There is no better person for that than someone who has been here, left, grown, and wants to come back," he stated.

Goyal also sought to reassure former Zomato employees that he is "still very much" there, and would love for them to be a part of the next phase of Eternal.

Goyal, in a letter to shareholders, had said he is stepping down to pursue new ideas that involve a "significantly higher-risk exploration" and will transition to the role of Vice Chairman.